Daniel Garbin Quintet in the Jazz Jamboree Series

The new year’s first concert in our Jazz Jamboree series presents the effervescent Daniel Garbin Quintet (Daniel Garbin - guitar, sitar, compositions, Scott Litroff - alto saxophone, Camila Cortina Bello – piano, Noam Tanzer – bass, Varun Das – drums) with an eclectic program of sophisticated tunes infused by various ethnic musical traditions. The event also makes the perfect occasion to introduce Daniel Garbin’s latest album, Rising, which masterfully combines jazz with Flamenco and Romanian folklore and demonstrates his prowess in weaving captivating melodies and harmonies.

DANIEL GARBIN (guitarist, sitarist, composer, and executive producer) is an associate professor at the City University of New York, where he seamlessly blends mathematics and music. His remarkable journey spans from an early love of geometry and number theory to a profound fascination with the guitar, music theory, and the intricate relationship between the physical instrument and the theory of music. Born in Romania, his musical odyssey began in Cluj-Napoca with the Big Band Gaio as well as a jazz quintet. Upon his move to NYC, Daniel became the lead guitarist for Cabana Rock, where he fused jazz, rock, and Romanian folklore, captivating audiences at prestigious venues. Daniel's journey includes joining INOAN, exploring jazz standards and Indian Classical Music on the sitar. A fixture in NYC's jazz scene, he co-founded the group The Professors with Scott Litroff as well as the jazz duo SiMiDaNi with Simona 'Simi' Pop. YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@danielgarbin8731/videos

CAMILA CORTINA is a pianist, educator, musicologist, and composer from Havana, Cuba. After living eight years in Singapore, performing across South Asia, she relocated to Boston in 2018 to further her studies in jazz performance and composition at Berklee College of music. She has performed with artists like Paquito D’ Rivera, Terri Lyne Carrington, and Dianne Reeves, among others.

VARUN DAS is an emerging star drummer, composer, educator, and four-time Downbeat Magazine “Best Soloist” (undergraduate) based in New York. Das has recorded alongside Joey Defrancesco, Dayna Stephens, Charles Altura, Matt Brewer, and Luis Perdomo.  As one of the most in demand South Asian drummers in the nation, Das is a core member of world renowned Brooklyn- based band Red Baraat and is also globally recognized drummer for Bollywood.

Renowned internationally for his seamless stylistic versatility, saxophonist SCOTT LITROFF demonstrates his command of classical, jazz, and pop idioms through his extensive work as a performer, guest artist, and clinician. Litroff currently serves as Associate Professor of Jazz at Queensborough Community College at the City University of New York.

NOAM TANZER is a Brooklyn-based bassist who plays the double bass and electric bass. A graduate of the Berklee global jazz institute, Tanzer was mentored by an incredible group of musicians and teachers such as Danilo Perez, George Garzone, Bob Gullotti, John Patitucci, and many more. Growing up in Israel, his musical upbringing was widely diverse and was inspired by many different directions of music. The duality and relationship between the two instruments - the electric and the acoustic bass is something that was always part of Tanzer’s identity, and will keep being part of his journey going forward. Tanzer is currently a part of the Mike Stern Group.